Starbucks, Starbucks, Everywhere, Part II

Starbucks, Starbucks, Everywhere, Part II In 2004, I blogged about Starbucks’ implausible Forbidden City location (post includes picture) in the heart of one of China’s most prominent national monuments. Today, under pressure from the Chinese government, Starbucks announced that they’re closing the location, reflecting “Chinese sensitivity about cultural symbols and unease over an influx of foreign pop culture,” according to a very short blurb about this in today’s Wall Street Journal. It must be indescribably different to live in a society that’s so tightly controlled.